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News Notes
Caroline Young | C. A. Rijk
FRENCH EPISCOPAL COMMITTEE CREATED
The following communique was released June 27 by the National Secretariat of the French Episcopate:
In keeping with the decision of the Bishops' Permanent Council, an episcopal committee for relations with Judaism has been founded. The present members are — Msgr. Elchinger, Msgr. Delarue, Msgr. Etchegaray. Rev. B.D. Dupuy, 0.P., agreed to act as secretary. The bishops on the committee are assisted by several experts.
The committee's task is to keep the Episcopate informed of doctrinal or pastoral questions posed by Judaism in France. It will also suggest ways to improve the structure favoring relations between the Jewish and Christian communities.
(Translated from La Documentation Catholique 1544, 20 juillet 1969, p. 690.)
COMMUNIQUE
Msgr. Jacques Delarue, Bishop of Nanterre, has notified us in a letter dated October 9, 1969, that the last traces of the "Miracle des Billettes" (a devotion arising from a ritual crime) have been removed from the church St Jean-St Francois in Paris.
1969 CAMBRIDGE CONFERENCE
A very real exchange of ideas and fellowship characterized the Cambridge Conference which took place at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, July 25-27 with a record attendance of 83 — 46 Christians and 37 Jews.
The conferences and theological exchanges centered around the theme "Chosen Peoples". They were intensified by participation in Kiddush and Sabbath Services as well as in a Methodist Service of the Word and breaking of the bread. Each member was invited to participate fully or as a respectful and sympathetic observer.
Opening the Conference, the Rev. G.W. Anderson, Methodist Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Studies, developed the concept of Israel the individual and Israel the community, Israel as an historical foundation with theological implications.
The Torah carries for Jews a permanent redemptive value; Jesus fulfills this role for Christians asserted the second speaker, Sr. Louis Gabriel of the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion. Linking the New Testament to the Old, she showed that the Old can stand alone, but the New cannot. To Jewry she posed the Christian's question: "Are you prepared to admit that we, too, are Israel, that we too are God's people, though our ways are different from yours?"
According to Dr. J.L. Teicher, Lecturer in Rabbinics at the University of Cambridge, "chosenness" is connected with being given the Torah. After drawing the conclusion that Christianity and Judaism were two answers to the situation, he went on to discuss the sources of modern alienation from monotheism.
Does the world need the Jews and has God really given this nation a mission were questions asked by Moshe Davis, head of the Youth and Education Department of the Jewish National Fund. Speaking of the ever-present dilemma of being chosen, he contended that Jews were chosen for service and not for privilege. Jewish people always believed that they should be a blessing for the peoples on earth, he said.
Commenting during the Open Forum, Rev. Dr. James Parkes brought out that Christianity and Judaism were both true and essential since both are chosen peoples — chosen for responsibility.
Ending on this note, in an atmosphere of honest give and take, the 1969 Cambridge Conference must certainly have been a step forward in the spirit of the Council.
(Based on the C.C.J. report of the Conference by Joan Lawrence.)
JEWISH—BAPTIST SCHOLARS' CONFERENCE"The divine Covenant between God and man is two-sided, shared by both Christians and Jews." This assertion was made by Dr. Eric C. Rust, Professor of Christian Apologetics at the Southern Baptist Seminary (Louisville, Kentucky), during a three-day meeting of some 70 Jewish and Baptist scholars.
The session, held at the Seminary August 1820, sponsored jointly by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Interreligious Affairs Department of the American Jewish Committee, focused on specific historic, theological and social aspects of relations between Baptists and Jews. The five themes upon which the Conference concentrated were:
• The Historical and Cultural Setting
• The Meaning of Israel
• The Meaning of 'Conversion/Turning'
• The Meaning of Messiah
• Religion and Social Responsibility.
Some of the key-note speakers were Abraham J. Heschel, Ellis Rivkin, Arthur Gilbert and Marc Tanenbaum.
After a frank and unprecedented exchange on the tensions arising due to "Christian desires to convert Jews", the Conference concluded with acall for an interreligious committee to influence government action on social issues.
Caroline Young
MAREDSOUS, BELGIUM
"How does Jewish self-understanding, tradition and the reality of Judaism itself invite us to express and understand the essence of our faith: salvation in and through Jesus Christ?"
A small group of French-language Catholics considered this question during a study session held at Maredsous in Belgium from the 19-23 of September. The hospitality, the atmosphere of peace and silence of this Benedictine monastery whose abbott, Dom Duroy, along with two other monks, participated in the meeting, contributed greatly to serious reflection. After an introductory conference by Fr. Dupuy who situated the problem within its historical, exegetical and contemporary framework, Fr. Hruby of the Institut Catholique of Paris explained very clearly the role of tradition in Judaism. The Torah's two forms, written and oral, constitute the authentic, exhaustive and total expression of the will of God: it is the center of the whole of tradition. The masters of tradition commented and applied the Torah, first gift of God, to different circumstances; in doing so they were convinced that they had special divine assistance which prevented them from deviating from the original source. To express its coherence, all traditional teaching is said to come down directly from Moses.
Within the framework of the subject as treated by Fr. Hruby, several other topics were discussed: the name of God (Th. de Kruijf), people of God (paper read by J.P. Lichtenberg), Shekinah (Sr. M. Helene), Tshuvah (Sr. Benedicte), Kingdom of God (K. Hruby). A lively discussion after each talk helped us to deepen our insight into the subject. Gradually we discovered that the New Testament had left open many questions regarding the relationship between Christians and Jews, questions which must still be thoroughly studied. We noticed many converging lines but also many differences in fundamental concepts between Jewish and Christian traditions. There is certainly a common heritage, but on the other hand it would be false and dangerous to try to harmonize the two traditions, which must be understood, each within its own frame of reference. In addition, we must respect the complexity and the differences in the tendencies of each tradition. It was the common opinion of the participants that Christian tradition and Christian teaching takes Jewish tradition too little into consideration, to the detriment of a broader understanding of divine revelation. In particular, we are deprived of a necessary support which this living tradition supplies to the interpretation of the so-called Old Testament. In addition, we too often use words and expressions without examining their meaning closely; therefore, there is great need for a new terminology.
In general, we can say that the meeting was fruitful, although we were not able to consider the specificity of Christianity sufficiently.
Another meeting, planned for next year, will deal with one subject to be studied within Jewish and Christian traditions.
C. A. Rijk
HEBREW SESSION IN RIVOLI
The Second International Hebrew Session will be held in Rivoli (Turin, Italy) from December 26 to January 3 under the direction of Rev. J. Maigret, O.M.I., with Belgian, Swiss, Israeli, French and Italian professors. The programme will consist of Hebrew courses, conferences on biblical and Jewish themes, Israeli songs and dances, as well as an excursion in the Alps.
Application to attend the session may be made to: Secretariat of Hebrew Sessions, 25 rue du Cdt J. Duhail, 94 Fontenay-sous-Bois, France or Miss Victoria Nardini, S. Lorenzo 5121, 30122 Venice, Italy.
